Lance Scranton: A year to 'make it all matter'

The energy and expectation of a new school year is already palpable in our community. Next week begins the official start to training camps that will kick off the 2012-13 school year.

It's refreshing to know a few things are going to be different this upcoming year.

We now have an official group of parents and supporters who are passionate about “boosting” expectations in the classroom as well as in the areas of sports and extracurricular activities.

The Moffat County School District is going through a process of recommitting to the core values of education and how we teach our children.

Teachers are already training to help initiate a model of learning that values the meaning of what we teach each day in the classroom.

Past columns have focused on who is most responsible for learning and who always seems to incur the wrath of parents who are displeased with the academic progress or sports success of their children.

As I traveled around this summer, I got a sense that these issues we face as a community and as a school district are not unique.

North of us, I talked to teachers and coaches who are concerned about swelling classrooms and the limits of physical space when local economic activity is robust.

Few of them were talking about test scores or wins and losses. They were more concerned about how they were going to accommodate the increased numbers in their classrooms and on campuses that are not equipped to provide the kind of services that a burgeoning population demands.

South of us were a different set of issues.

Many professionals I spoke with are concerned about the level of focus, dedication and responsibility that young adults display in their daily lives.

The focus of these educators is to train young people to learn a new career and then position themselves to transition into the working world.

The main concern for these teachers was that the lack of high academic standards is pressuring them to try and educate in a non-challenging environment.

In Moffat County, we are demanding advanced test scores, winning records, playoff wins, extracurricular programs that achieve excellence and kids who graduate on time and have learned something useful.

It’s a tall order, but I’m confident that with the support of administrators and parents who care mightily about this community, it’s possible.

What excites me each and every year that I enter the classroom and step out onto the field are the possibilities.

The kind of year that we look back on and remember as one that was a watershed. A year that we decided as a community that we’re all in this together and we started pointing the thumb more than the finger.

We realized that for us to succeed we have to make it all matter.

I look forward to reporting and detailing our many successes this upcoming school year and the lessons we can learn from our experiences.

Lance Scranton is a Moffat County High School teacher and coach. He can be reached at lscranton@craigdailypress.com.